56 – The Tomato Settlement’s Bright Prospects
After lunch, Liszt said to Gort: “There is a serf called John Shoulderpole in the tomato settlement. The tomatoes of his household’s field are bigger and better than the rest. Come with me to take a look, to see whether there is anything interesting.”
Gort was baffled: “Liszt, how come you know of this?”
“I pay attention and listen to what people are saying, Teacher Gort. A qualified lord cannot be ignorant regarding their fief, they have to pay attention to everything.”
“Alright.”
Gort could not figure out how Liszt could know something about the fief that he didn’t. Had Liszt made arrangements for watchdogs in the fief?
Was it perhaps associated with the mysterious activity this morning as well as the tunnel excavation matter?
He felt that he had to do his work more earnestly, that Liszt was clear about any activity of his.
This was bad, it meant that he could loose the lord’s trust at any time.
……
“Sir Lord, this is John Shoulderpole.” Pointed a clerk at a reserved serf and said.
John Shoulderpole hurriedly took his wife, son, and daughter to kneel before Liszt in salute: “Sir Lord.” He was very nervous as he did not know what for the lord was looking him for.
If it were the former tax collector knight sent by the count who came to see him, then he might had already peed himself. Having an aristocrat coming to look for one was definitely no a good thing. However, after coming to the Flower Town, Liszt’s reputation was quite good. Therefore, John was just nervous.
Sure enough.
The Flower Town’s lord smiled softly at him: “Don’t be nervous, John. I heard that your household has the best tomatoes. Is it true?”
“Answering, answering Sir Lord: it is true.”
“Do you know why it is so?”
“I don’t know, Sir Lord. But it was this season that my household’s tomatoes got better and better. The town’s freedmen like to by my household’s tomatoes and even Mrs. Abby from Sir Lord’s castle has praised my household’s tomatoes as being the best.” Said John very proudly.
There was no greater praise a serf could get than receiving recognition from the castle.
Liszt did not continue with the next question, instead saying directly: “In this case, take me to the tomato field cultivated by your household.”
Following John Shoulderpole, the group quickly arrived at a large tomato field in the center of the tomato settlement. Tomatoes, unlike wheat, were not cultivated in a large farmland, but rather in small fields. The tomato field allocated to John’s household was located at the center of the tomato settlement. Clearly, it was doing better than the fields of other households.
Of course, no matter who cultivated the fields, all of them still belonged to Liszt.
“Sir Lord, these are my household’s tomatoes.” John had a look of exultation when he mentioned his tomato field. “Ever since the town’s officials taught us how to cultivate, I have been scooping out pond mud and picking up manure every day before spreading them on the field. Like this, the tomatoes grew better and better.”
The tomato sprouts on the field were very strong and healthy. He was unable to tell which one of them might be pregnant with a sprite worm.
However, Liszt now had a way to tell which sprout was pregnant with the sprite worm.
He quickly unleashed his Magic Eyes and looked at the tomato field. Before long, he found a dark green circulation of magic power amid the tomato sprouts. It was definitely a worm stalk.
“I believe that I have already figured it out.” Liszt dispelled the Magic Eyes, turned to Gort and said, “This is a sign that a sprite worm is about to be born. Teacher Gort, you have work to do. Protect this household’s tomato sprouts, particularly the one that is going to bear the sprite worm.”
“Oh, heavens, is this true, is the fief going to bear a sprite worm?” Gort shouted exaggeratedly, “Sir Baron, you are beloved by the glory of knights! The Flower Town has risen! Please be at ease, I will protect this adorable little fellow, letting it develop in peace.”
Next, Marcus sighed in pleasant surprise: “Two sprite worms in a short span, Sir, you are indeed beloved by the glory of knights!”
Marcus felt that it was worthwhile being Liszt’s loyal follower.
There were clear signs that Liszt was not an ordinary lesser aristocrat. His temperament, his train of thought, and his luck were all indicative of this.
Luck in particular; at times, luck was more important than strength.
Liszt smiled. With smoke missions, there was no need to worry about a lack of pleasant surprises. He was still calm. He declared in a gentle tone: “A tomato sprite worm is about to be born. With it, a brighter future is awaiting the tomato settlement. As a reward for John Shoulderpole’s diligence, I decided to bestow upon him 1 Nalda (gold coin).”
“Lucky serf.”
Gort was a bit jealous. With his wages of 10 copper coins a day, he would take more than three months to collect 1 Nalda, if he did not buy drinks nor food, that is.
……
“A sprite worm?”
“A Nalda?”
“Sir Lord rewarded me with a Nalda?”
Right until Liszt took his people away, John was still stunned as if in a dream. Cultivating tomatoes over and over could result in a gold coin? After all, serfs could not even gather a silver coin from a year of cultivating crops. They might not even see a Nalda in their lifetime. However, he actually got one from cultivating crops.
“Daddy, daddy, show me the Nalda, wow, I have never seen a Nalda!” The eight-year-old son shouted, wanting to snatch away the gold coin from his father’s hand.
John finally sobered up. He gripped the coin and looked at his son: “Go away, you think that you can touch the Nalda?!”
He looked at his wife and extended a trembling hand: “Anya, look, Sir Lord has given me a Nalda, we are rich! We have a Nalda!”
Anya was also trembling, saying excitedly: “Oh heavens, John, is this real? Am I dreaming?”
“You are not dreaming, I also am not dreaming, it is real, Sir Lord has personally given it to me! Anya, we are rich!”
“Oh haha, oh haha, our family is rich!” The four-year-old daughter clapped her little hands as she cheered.
“Daddy, show me the Nalda!” The son still had his hand outstretched, askiing for the coin.
John ignored his son, only caring for his excited wife: “Thank heavens, thank Sir Lord beloved by the glory of knights. With Sir Lord, our Flower Town will get more and more prosperous.”
Anya took the Nalda and carefully put it on the palm of her hand. A tender expression adorned her not good-looking, square face: “John, we can use the Nalda to become freedmen!”
“Become freedmen?” John shook his head. “I don’t want to do that.”
“Why? Have you not always wanted to become a freedman, to leave the Flower Town, and go live in another town?”
“That was because we could never eat our fill in the Flower Town. But Anya, what about now? We have seafood, very cheap seafood at that. A copper coin can buy a large pile of clam. Look at Karl and Lucy, they always it its flesh! We can eat our fill in the Flower Town because Sir Lord is benevolent, this Nalda is also a token of Sir Lord’s benevolence!”
He said zealously: “I believe that Sir Lord will make the Flower Town better and better! I want to cultivate the fields for Sir Lord, for the rest of my life! Anya, will you support me?”
“John, you are the head of the family, whatever you decide is good. Besides, I am also used to living in the Flower Town.” Anya replied with a smile. “I am going to prepare dinner. How about we have a loaf of white bread tonight?”
“Haha, sounds great. I miss the sweet and fragrant white bread from our wedding anniversary.”
The daughter clapped her hands and laughed: “Ohhhhh, we are going to eat white bread tonight!”
The son began whining: “Mommy, show me the Nalda, mommy…”